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Scuffling CarGo given breather in finale

4/11/14: Carlos Gonzalez blasts a two-run home run into McCovey Cove, scoring Josh Rutledge to give the Rockies a 3-0 lead

By Thomas Harding
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MLB.com |

SAN DIEGO -- Thursday afternoon was a good and bad time for Rockies left fielder Carlos Gonzalez to rest.

Gonzalez has a .138 batting average and 13 strikeouts against Padres starter Ian Kennedy. He also entered the day 3-for-24 (.125) through six games on the Rockies' road trip.

It wasn't your typical 3-for-24, at least in San Diego. Gonzalez was robbed on hard-hit balls and outstanding defensive plays on several occasions. Sometimes, he realized, it's good to step away from the frustration.

"For sure, there are going to be a couple of broken-bat hits, and a couple not-hard hits, and you've got to take it that way," said Gonzalez, whose batting average has dropped 106 points to .283 during the trip. "The positive thing is I'm hitting the ball hard, just not finding holes right now. But it's hard, because every time I feel like I hit the ball hard in great situations -- runners on first and second, things like that -- and that's the ballgame.

"What I do is go out and play defense and try to do the same thing to them that they're doing to me. It's tough, but you can't get frustrated. Just continue to swing the bat and good things will happen."

The Rockies don't always sit Gonzalez in unfavorable matchups against right-handed pitching. He went 0-for-4 Saturday against the Giants' Matt Cain to end a 10-game hitting streak, and he's 4-for-44 (.091) in his career against Cain.

"It's a matter of time when everything will come together," Gonzalez said. "Hopefully, we'll stay healthy. If we're all out there and competing at our best level, we're going to be a good team.

Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @harding_at_mlb. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.